PTSD takes toll on Newtown first responders

By Mark Zaretsky, New Haven Register

Posted:
02/06/2013 12:16:48 PM PST

Updated:
02/06/2013 12:17:31 PM PST

NEWTOWN, Conn. - As many as seven police officers at a time - more than 16 percent of Newtown's 43-member sworn police force - have been out at one time with post-traumatic stress disorder-related issues, Police Chief Michael Kehoe told the Board of Police Commissioners Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, five were out, he said.

"I'd just like to tell the board that we are experiencing some PTSD," Kehoe told the board at its regular monthly meeting.

"At any given moment" there could be two or three officers out, but "as of this moment," there were five, he said.

Police union President Scott Ruszczyk said outside the meeting that the officers are experiencing "normal PTSD trauma," given the kinds of things they've seen and experienced.

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe (center) listens to Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson speak at a press at Wolfe Park in Monroe about the new Sandy Hook Elementary School in Monroe on 1/2/2013.
Photo by Arnold Gold/New Haven Register

He previously has said that all of the officers coping with PTSD were among the first responders to the Dec. 14 mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Some officers "went out, came back," then ended up going back out on leave, he said.

One officer has been out since the shootings, Ruszczyk said.

Following the school attack, "there are some leadership failures that need to be addressed, that we're going to be addressing," Ruszczyk said outside the meeting, as the board, Kehoe and Capt. Joe Rios were in a closed session.

Ruszczyk would not elaborate other than to say that he might not be referring just to the police administration.

"It's a matter of change," he said. "We need things to work more efficiently."

On Dec.

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14, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his mother four times, then went to the school - carrying a Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle and two handguns - shot his way in and quickly shot and killed 20 first graders and six female educators.

While a bill is expected to be proposed in Hartford to require first-responder insurance coverage to cover PTSD, the officers currently are in danger of not being paid at some point, Ruszczyk said.

The town and the department's insurance company initially "didn't offer anything," he said.

The town has since helped out by temporarily changing how officers incur sick time; officials are allowing them to split a sick day into thirds so they don't have to use an entire day if they have to miss a shift, Ruszczyk said.

During the meeting, Ruszczyk thanked the police board and the chief for being willing to negotiate on that issue.

Beyond that, the officers' salaries are being paid from an account the union set up that is funded by private contributions.

"Obviously, the union is going to run out of funds" at some point, he said.

"Right now, the health of the fund is really good. But five ... or seven guys tapping in could really" deplete it at some point, he said.

While there may be money available at some point through the various funds established following the tragedy, "the problem is getting through the red tape with the town," Ruszczyk said.

Anyone who wants to give directly to the union's fund to support the officers can send checks to Newtown Police Union, 3 Main St., Newtown, CT. 06470